> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gridshift.studio/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Timeline Shortcuts
> Navigate, select, edit, and arrange clips on the Timeline.
Keyboard and mouse shortcuts for working in the **Timeline** — moving the cursor, selecting and editing clips, and arranging them.
## Arrow key navigation
Arrow keys are the foundation of keyboard navigation. Their behavior changes based on modifier keys.
### Horizontal (←/→)
| Modifier | Action |
| -------- | --------------------------------- |
| (none) | Move cursor (1 grid division) |
| **⇧** | Extend marquee |
| **⇧⌥** | Extend marquee (fine) |
| **⌘** | Select next/previous clip |
| **⌘⇧** | Add clip to selection |
| **⌘⌃** | Move selected clips |
| **⌘⌃⌥** | Move selected clips (fine) |
| **⌘⌃⇧** | Timestretch selected clips |
| **⌘⌃⇧⌥** | Timestretch selected clips (fine) |
| **⌥** | Zoom in/out |
### Vertical (↑/↓)
| Modifier | Action |
| -------- | ------------------------------------ |
| (none) | Move cursor to track above/below |
| **⇧** | Extend marquee vertically |
| **⌘** | Select clip on track above/below |
| **⌘⇧** | Add clip on other track to selection |
| **⌘⌃** | Move clips to other track |
| **⌘⌃⇧** | Timestretch selected clips |
| **⌘⌃⇧⌥** | Timestretch selected clips (fine) |
| **⌥** | Zoom level (↓=in, ↑=out) |
## Cursor movement (keyboard)
| Action | Shortcut |
| -------------------------- | -------- |
| Move Cursor Right (1 grid) | `→` |
| Move Cursor Left (1 grid) | `←` |
| Move Cursor to Track Above | `↑` |
| Move Cursor to Track Below | `↓` |
## Clip selection (keyboard)
| Action | Shortcut |
| ------------------------------ | -------- |
| Select Next Clip | `⌘→` |
| Select Previous Clip | `⌘←` |
| Select Clip on Track Above | `⌘↑` |
| Select Clip on Track Below | `⌘↓` |
| Add Next Clip to Selection | `⌘⇧→` |
| Add Previous Clip to Selection | `⌘⇧←` |
| Add Clip Above to Selection | `⌘⇧↑` |
| Add Clip Below to Selection | `⌘⇧↓` |
## Clip selection (mouse)
| Action | Modifier | Result |
| ------------- | -------- | ------------------------- |
| Click on clip | (none) | Select clip |
| Click on clip | **⇧** | Add/remove from selection |
| Click on clip | **⌘** | Set cursor position |
| Double-click | (none) | Enter Focus Mode |
## Moving clips
| Action | Shortcut |
| ------------------- | -------- |
| Move Right (1 grid) | `⌘⌃→` |
| Move Left (1 grid) | `⌘⌃←` |
| Move Right (fine) | `⌘⌃⌥→` |
| Move Left (fine) | `⌘⌃⌥←` |
| Move to Track Above | `⌘⌃↑` |
| Move to Track Below | `⌘⌃↓` |
## Timestretch
| Action | Shortcut |
| ------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Timestretch Slower | `⌘⌃⇧→` or `⌘⌃⇧↓` |
| Timestretch Faster | `⌘⌃⇧←` or `⌘⌃⇧↑` |
| Timestretch Slower (fine) | `⌘⌃⇧⌥→` or `⌘⌃⇧⌥↓` |
| Timestretch Faster (fine) | `⌘⌃⇧⌥←` or `⌘⌃⇧⌥↑` |
You can also timestretch with the mouse by holding `⌘` and dragging the **trailing pill** of an audio clip (the handle at its right edge).
## Clipboard operations
| Action | Shortcut |
| --------------------------------------------------- | --------------- |
| Cut | `⌘X` |
| Copy | `⌘C` |
| Paste (at cursor) | `⌘V` |
| Duplicate (linked) | `⌘D` |
| Duplicate Unlinked | `⌘⇧D` |
| Unlink Clip | `⌘I` |
| Link Identical Clips | `⌘⇧I` |
| Duplicate Replace | Command Palette |
| Delete selection / Trim previous division at cursor | `⌫` |
| Select All | `⌘A` |
| Select All in Track | `⌘⇧A` |
| Deselect | `Escape` |
`⌘D` keeps the copy [linked](/features/linked-clips) to the original; `⌘⇧D`
duplicates it unlinked. **Unlink Clip** is `⌘I` and its mirror **Link Identical
Clips** (`⌘⇧I`) re-joins copies that are exactly the same; **Duplicate Replace**
has no default shortcut — run it from the
[Command Palette](/features/command-palette) or assign your own.
## Splitting
| Action | Shortcut |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Split at Cursor/Marquee | `⌘E` |
| Split at Transients | `⌘⇧E` |
| Slice at Position | `⌘`+Right-click on a clip (or right-click below the header in focus mode) |
**Split Behavior**
* With a **marquee selection**: Splits at both marquee boundaries
* With **clips selected** (no marquee): Splits each clip in half
* **Split at Transients** creates separate clips at each detected transient marker
* **Mouse slice:** `⌘`+Right-click a clip to slice it at the pointer. A bare right-click **deletes** the clip. (In focus mode, right-clicking below a clip's header slices without `⌘` — and never deletes.)
## Quantize
| Action | Shortcut |
| ------------------ | -------- |
| Quantize Selection | `⌘U` |
## Marquee selection
The marquee allows you to select a time range across tracks.
### Creating a marquee
| Action | Modifier | Result |
| -------------------------- | ---------- | -------------------------- |
| Drag on empty area | (none) | Create marquee |
| Drag on a clip | **⌘** | Create marquee within clip |
| Drag below a clip's header | Focus mode | Create marquee within clip |
### Extending a marquee (keyboard)
| Action | Shortcut |
| --------------------- | -------- |
| Extend Right | `⇧→` |
| Extend Left | `⇧←` |
| Extend Right (fine) | `⇧⌥→` |
| Extend Left (fine) | `⇧⌥←` |
| Extend to Track Above | `⇧↑` |
| Extend to Track Below | `⇧↓` |
### Bar selection
| Action | Shortcut |
| -------------------- | -------- |
| Expand Bar Selection | `⌘⇧.` |
| Shrink Bar Selection | `⌘⇧,` |
## Creating & deleting clips
| Action | Modifier | Result |
| --------------------------------------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| Double-click on empty space | (none) | Create new clip at the clicked spot |
| `Enter` | (none) | Insert clip at the edit cursor (or fill the marquee range) |
| ⌘+Click on empty space | **⌘** | Create new clip |
| Right-click on clip | (none) | Delete clip |
| ⌘+Right-click on clip | **⌘** | Slice at hover position |
| Right-click below a clip's header | Focus mode | Slice at hover position |
| Right-click + drag from the delete zone | — | Eraser mode (delete multiple) |
## Zoom
### Keyboard
| Action | Shortcut |
| ---------------- | -------- |
| Zoom In | `⌥→` |
| Zoom Out | `⌥←` |
| Enter Focus Mode | `⌥↓` |
| Exit Focus Mode | `⌥↑` |
### Zoom presets
| Action | Shortcut |
| ----------------- | -------- |
| Zoom to Selection | `⌥1` |
| Zoom to Project | `⌥2` |
### Mouse zoom
| Action | Modifier | Result |
| ----------------- | -------- | ------------------------- |
| Scroll | (none) | Horizontal scroll |
| Scroll | **⇧** | Vertical scroll |
| Scroll | **⌥** | Zoom (centered on cursor) |
| Drag vertically | **⌥** | Zoom (anchor under mouse) |
| Drag horizontally | **⌥** | Scroll timeline |
**Intuitive Zoom Tool**
Hold Option to enter zoom mode. Drag vertically to zoom with the anchor point staying fixed under your mouse. Drag horizontally to scroll the timeline.
## Mouse interaction on clips
**A clip is a hand.** Press it anywhere and you drag it — there is no invisible boundary inside the clip to find, and so none to misclick. Hold **⌘** and the pointer becomes an arrow: now a click sets the timeline cursor and a drag makes a marquee, anywhere on the clip.
**Hover a clip and its grips appear.** A *pill* at each side resizes it, and — on audio clips wide enough — a small *grip* at each top corner pulls a fade. Nothing about a click changes on hover; the chrome only shows you where the grips are.
The pills sit a few points **inside** the clip's edge, which leaves the clip's actual start and end free. That is the point: ⌘-clicking the boundary itself is the only way to put the timeline cursor exactly on it.
You can retune the chrome in the theme editor (Clips ▸ *Hover handle opacity* / *Hover handle shade*); an opacity of 0 hides it without moving a single hit zone.
**Focus mode inverts this, along a drawn line.** Every clip on the focused track carries a **header** — a ledge at its top, about a compact clip tall, with a shadow falling from its lower edge onto the content sliding beneath it. Press the header to drag the clip (everything a bare press does in the arrangement); press anywhere **below** it to edit — set the cursor, start a marquee, work the piano roll or the automation curve — no ⌘ needed. Focus mode is the view you enter *in order to* work inside a clip, so the precision click is the default there and moving is what the header is for. The header's height and its shadow are theme values (Clips ▸ *Focus header …*).
| Action | Modifier | Result |
| ----------------------------------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------- |
| Click on clip | (none) | Select clip |
| Click on clip | **⇧** | Add/remove from selection |
| Drag anywhere on a clip | (none) | Move clip |
| Click on a clip | **⌘** | Set cursor / start marquee |
| Click below a clip's header | Focus mode | Set cursor / start marquee |
| Drag a clip's header | Focus mode | Move clip |
| Drag a side pill | (none) | Resize clip |
| Drag the trailing pill | **⌘** | Timestretch clip |
| Drag a top-corner grip | (none) | Fade in / out (audio) |
| Click the clip's exact start or end | **⌘** | Put the cursor on the clip boundary |
The ghost cursor appears whenever you are in cursor mode over a clip — that is, while ⌘ is held.
Right-click follows the same rule: a bare right-click deletes the clip, ⌘+right-click slices it. In focus mode, right-clicking below a header slices without ⌘ — and never deletes.
**Resize** lives on the pills, not on the clip's edge. Hold ⌘ on the **trailing** pill to timestretch instead. ⌘ over the *leading* pill yields to the cursor — ⌘ means "get out of the way", everywhere except that one grip.
## Track actions
| Action | Shortcut |
| ----------------------------- | -------- |
| Add Sample Track | `⌘T` |
| Add Instrument Track | `⌘⇧T` |
| Select Sample | `⌥S` |
| Select Instrument | `⌥I` |
| Add Effect | `⌥E` |
| Add Ducking | `⌥D` |
| Rename Track | `⌘R` |
| Group Selected Tracks | `⌘G` |
| Ungroup Track | `⌘⇧G` |
| Delete Track | `⌘⌫` |
| Toggle Mute | `⇧M` |
| Toggle Solo | `⇧S` |
| Normalize Track Volume | `⌥N` |
| Move Track Up | `⌘⌥↑` |
| Move Track Down | `⌘⌥↓` |
| Search Tracks | `⌘F` |
| Create Automation Track | `⌥A` |
| Toggle Automation Visibility | `⇧A` |
| Bounce Selection to New Track | `⌘B` |
## Clip Gain & Normalize
Number keys set the gain of selected audio clips relative to each clip's own peak level. `0` normalizes the selection — every clip is boosted so its loudest sample reaches 0 dBFS. `1`–`9` scale that normalized peak down in 10 % steps, so two clips of different original loudness end up at matching levels.
The key left of `1` (`^` on German / ISO layouts, `` ` `` on US / ANSI layouts) toggles clips between muted and unmuted. Mute is stored as a separate flag on the clip — toggling it never touches the gain value, so unmuting restores the previous level.
| Key | Action |
| ------------- | ------------------------------ |
| `` ` `` / `^` | Mute / unmute selected clips |
| `1` – `9` | 10 % – 90 % of normalized peak |
| `0` | Normalize (peak → 0 dBFS) |
Each clip is measured independently, so normalizing a mixed selection levels them all to the same ceiling instead of applying one shared gain. MIDI clips are skipped — peak normalization has no meaning for velocity. Time-stretched audio is measured across the full source span that is actually played, not the visual clip length, so sped-up loops normalize correctly. Boost is capped at +24 dB to keep very quiet tails from being amplified into walls of noise.
These keys are handled via direct key events rather than the command system, so they cannot be reassigned through the Command Palette. Number-key gain changes do **not** propagate to linked clip siblings — the selection you addressed is exactly the selection that changes. Use the Inspector gain slider if you want linked propagation.
Editing gain is only half of what the number row does. With no clip selected (or while recording), the same keys retrigger — and record — the last note or slice you played at the chosen level. See [Number-Key Dynamics](/shortcuts/musical-typing#number-key-dynamics).
## Track Clip Mode & Ceiling
These drive the selected track's built-in clipper/limiter — the same controls as the Inspector's Clip section — straight from the keyboard. They sit on the number row and the two keys right of `0`, all held with Control (`⌃`): the same physical keys as bare [clip gain](#clip-gain--normalize), one modifier up. Because they need only a selected *track* (not a selected clip), the two layers never clash.
### Clip Mode
Hold **`⌃`** and tap a key on the number row to pick the clipping curve directly. The key left of `1` (`^` on German / ISO layouts, `` ` `` on US / ANSI layouts) sets **None** (clipper off); `1`–`0` walk the ten curves in order — the same key positions as the bare row's `` ` `` mute, `1`–`9`, `0`.
| Key (with `⌃`) | Clip Mode |
| -------------- | ----------------- |
| `` ` `` / `^` | None (off) |
| `1` | Hard |
| `2` | Hard (Edge) |
| `3` | Hard (Erosion) |
| `4` | Quintic |
| `5` | Cubic |
| `6` | Hyperbolic Tan |
| `7` | Algebraic |
| `8` | Arctangent |
| `9` | Limit |
| `0` | Limit (Lookahead) |
### Ceiling
The two keys right of `0` set the clip ceiling — `⌃=` raises, `⌃-` lowers, the same louder/quieter direction as the bare volume keys. Add `⌥` for fine steps.
| Key | Action |
| ------------- | ---------------------- |
| `⌃=` / `⌃-` | Ceiling ±1 dB |
| `⌃⌥=` / `⌃⌥-` | Ceiling ±0.1 dB (fine) |
The clip modes show their `⌃`-key inline under **Change Clip Mode** in the Command Palette, where each can be rebound; the cycling commands **Track Clip Mode — Next / Previous** remain too, mainly for hardware encoders. Ceiling appears as **Track Ceiling …**. Shortcut labels follow your keyboard layout, so `⌃=` shows as the glyph actually printed on that key.
## Inspector controls
The Inspector panel shows mix controls for the selected track.
### Reset to default
| Action | Result |
| ----------------------- | ---------------------- |
| `⌥`+Click on any slider | Reset to default value |
**Default Values:**
* **Volume**: 0 dB (unity gain)
* **Pan**: Center
* **Mid/Side**: 1.0 (unity)